By David Peel
Following a crash, our world can slow to a crawl. Stunned from impact and hurting, it is easy to stand and survey the wreckage of our car.
However, it is important to realize that the rest of the world is still traveling at speed. Their world is still happening at 88 feet per second.
Therefore, crash number two must be avoided if at all possible. Distracted drivers literally ram disabled cars and kill pedestrians.
Here are tips to share with those you care about:
1. Never push your disabled vehicle from the roadway until and unless traffic has been channeled into other lanes.
2. Use flashers, flares, triangles etc. to indicate the area.
3. Get safe. If you cannot safely get off the roadway, stay strapped in the vehicle.
These issues are especially important at night. Darkness interferes with depth perception significantly. (Ask any angler who has fished at night). Lights, wreckage and debris distract drivers who are not necessarily looking for pedestrians.
Second crashes are often fatal.
Even doing what I do every day, and knowing what I know, I almost made a fatal error one evening. I was on a darkened highway 385 and I saw a pick-up truck that had gotten over to the side and began to burn. The fire was so bright that in the dark road way around it I could not see a person. I was concerned that there may be someone inside the vehicle, and in my imagination, it was a child still strapped in.
I immediately pulled over, hit the hazard lights and began to run towards the vehicle yelling “is anyone in there?”
I had taken no more than three steps when a vehicle blew past me mere inches from my face. I had not noticed that vehicle coming and clearly that driver had been focused on the fire and had not ever noticed me. I just about became a statistic.
I was able to find the driver and he was alone and had successfully gotten out of his truck. We watched it burn and then the battery exploded in spectacular fashion.
I still think about how life and death comes down to a few crucial split seconds.
Peel seeks justice for those injured in tractor trailer and car accidents, medical malpractice, and disability. He often addresses churches, clubs and groups without charge. Peel may be reached through PeelLawFirm.com wherein other articles may be accessed.
